Triple P BBQ is a hit in Dixon with all the senses

DIXON — For Shane Porter it makes sense to highlight scents.

Those scents would be the smell of slow-roasted brisket and pork, along with ribs, chicken, turkey and three types of sausage. This time in Dixon.

Triple P BBQ in Rock Falls, which Porter has owned for four years, features those items, but they are prepared off site.

The smoker at the recently opened Dixon site, located at 1600 Miller St., near WalMart, is at the east end of the building. Most of the smoker is outside, but its doors open up in the kitchen, allowing the smells of meats prepared daily to waft through the 3,500-square-foot facility.

“Our smoker in Rock Falls is completely in another building,” Porter said. “When you walk into Rock Falls, while you smell great food, you don’t smell that smoke like you do [in Dixon]. When you come in here, you definitely catch that smoke aroma. We’re hoping to [move the] Rock Falls [smoker] indoors like this one is, to get that smoke in the building.”

It is a long process to get the brisket and pork cooked just like Porter likes it. At about 7 p.m. each night, the meat is placed in the smoker and is cooked for about 15 hours – “low and slow” is how Porter describes it. Once the meat reaches 225 degrees, it is ready.

Hickory and cherry are the two woods used the most in the smoking process. Oak is substituted for the occasionally hard to obtain hickory.

“Hickory gives it the smoked flavor and cherry gives it the mahogany – the red look,” Porter said. “That’s why we blend the two together.”

Business has been steady for the first month in Dixon, whether it be for the lunch crowd after opening at 11 a.m., or the supper crowd later in the day. A majority has been takeout orders, though there is plenty of seating for those who prefer that option. Social distancing is observed in the dining area.

“It’s been super steady,” Porter said. “There wasn’t the big rush, and we’re glad we didn’t get that because that just comes with complaints and bad reviews. Nobody’s ever ready for that big rush, and it’s been a nice, steady flow.”

Members of the military, firefighters, police officers and health care workers, with proper identification, receive a 15% discount off their order.

For Porter, cranking out tasty meats has gone from a hobby to a profession. A friend, who he labeled as “Barbecue Benny,” gave him the nickname “Pulled Pork Porter,” which is the inspiration for the Triple P BBQ business name.

“I was just messing around in the backyard,” Porter said. “I love barbecue, and I was tired of eating bad barbecue. Our area, by the time I got involved, there was zero barbecue in the area. It was just the right fit, and I love doing this.”